READ THE CITIZENS' VOICE

Digital Only Subscription
Read the digital e-Edition of The Citizens' Voice on your PC or mobile device, and have 24/7 access to breaking news, local sports, contests, and more at citizensvoice.com or on our mobile apps.

Digital Services
Have news alerts sent to your mobile device or email, read the e-Edition, sign up for daily newsletters, enter contests, take quizzes, download our mobile apps and see the latest e-circulars.

Contact Us
See department contacts, frequently asked questions, request customer service support, submit a photo or place an ad.

Article Tools

Joshua C. Ovalles is escorted to a preliminary hearing in Wilkes-Barre in this file photo. Mark Moran / The Citizens' Voice

WILKES-BARRE - He may have been at the scene of the crime and firing a gun in the air, but prosecutors have no evidence Joshua C. Ovalles shot and killed a man during a party on Grant Street last month, his lawyer argued Wednesday.

Ovalles, 19, of Wilkes-Barre, is charged with an open count of homicide in the death of 24-year-old Vaughn Kemp, who was shot dead during a party at 174 S. Grant St. on July 7.

His attorney, Peter Moses, argued during a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Martin Kane on Wednesday morning that the charge should be dismissed because prosecutors failed to produce a gun, ballistic evidence, gunpowder residue or any other evidence linking Ovalles to the shooting, despite witnesses claiming at least two dozen people were in the area at the time.

Prosecutors countered that they had met the burden of proof for a preliminary hearing, saying there was no evidence anyone else had a gun and that it was likely Ovalles had committed the crime.

"You don't have to have an eyewitness," Assistant District Attorney Molly Hanlon Mirabito said. "Circumstantial evidence is enough to convict on a charge of criminal homicide."

Kane agreed, ordering Ovalles to stand trial on the charge. Ovalles remains jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility without bail.

Prosecutors allege Ovalles, who goes by the street name "Jay-Crim," got into an argument with Kemp during the party. A police affidavit alleges a large group came out from behind the house and someone yelled "East side," prompting Ovalles to yell "West side" and fire a gun into the air, according to police.

Police say Kemp threw a beer bottle at Ovalles and ran toward the backyard, and Ovalles shot him twice in the back and buttocks.

At the time of the shooting, Ovalles was out on $105,000 bail on attempted murder and drug distribution charges alleging he shot a man in the face, chest and thigh during a heroin deal in January.

During the hearing Wednesday, prosecutors called only three witnesses: Luzerne County Deputy Coroner Dan Hughes - who testified Kemp died of multiple gunshot wounds in a homicide - and two people who attended the party.

The first, Erik Rodriguez, testified through an interpreter that he heard a man later identified as Ovalles say he was going to get a pistol but that he wasn't sure why. When the first shots were fired, he said he looked out a window and saw Ovalles shooting into the air.

"I saw one pistol," Rodriguez said through the translator. "The shots were fired and he was there."

The other witness, 22-year-old Ramon Duval, testified that he was at the party when he saw a man with whom he had a problem ever since the man pushed Duval's friend at a McDonald's.

Duval said he asked the man to go out front of the house to talk, but then about 25 or 30 people came out.

"I was talking to (him) and then the guy that got shot and killed asked me what was happening," Duval said through an interpreter. "I said, 'Nothing, we're just talking.' And then everybody started yelling and pushing."

About five minutes later a man known as Jay-Crim pulled a gun and started shooting in the air, causing people to run, he said.

Duval testified that he didn't see Kemp get shot because he was fleeing the area.

Moses seized on the apparent fact that no one had seen Ovalles shoot Kemp, noting that both witnesses didn't speak to police until two days after the slaying and that they gave conflicting descriptions of the shooter's clothing.

"There are some definite problems with the case the commonwealth has," Moses said after the hearing. "We have two witnesses that took the stand. They both describe the defendant in totally different terms - one has him wearing a hoodie sweatshirt that's gray and yellow, the other one has him wearing a tank top. Not one of them saw the defendant shoot the victim. The best testimony they could offer today was that my client shot the gun in the air."

Ovalles' sister and his child's mother were in court for the hearing. They declined to comment, as did Kemp's family members.

jhalpin@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2058

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.